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NRSC Independence
The NRSC Independence is a Mon Calamari MC80 Star Cruiser, Home One variant. It was among the first of these ships to enter Alliance, and later New Republic, service, and therefore has enjoyed a long and storied history among the ongoing conflicts of the Galaxy. It remains in active service as a frontline warship, serving as battlecruiser, carrier, command ship and mobile base for many of the New Republic's military personnel. Despite its age, it remains a capable and formidable force on the battlefield. Operational Status Independence is presently fully operational with no outstanding work orders of note. She has been recently re-assigned to Second Fleet's 21st Star Cruiser Squadron alongside her sister-ship [[NRSC Defiance|NRSC Defiance]]. Independence is currently under the command of Jared Starwind. Her home station is Ord Mantell. History Construction The Independence was constructed in the pre-Empire area, at the Shipyards around Dac. She, like her sister ships [[NRSC Home One|NRSC Home One]] and [[NRSC Defiance|NRSC Defiance]] were originally built as deep-space exploration vessels, and while these Star Cruisers resembled each other greatly and served the same purpose, like all Star Cruisers, they were each designed and built individually and are unique vessels despite their classification. Unfortunately, despite this peaceable genesis, the bulk of the Independence's lifespan would see some of the most violent battles in the galaxy. When Ackbar convinced his people to join the Alliance to restore the Republic, the ship, her sisters, and many of their fellow Star Cruisers were donated to the Alliance Fleets, converted to serve as warships, and re-commissioned under their current names. Rebellion The Independence, like all her brethren, were accepted with enthusiasm by the Rebel forces and frequently treated with a reverence that persists to this day in the Republic ranks. The Independence herself carries no small share of distinction, having been instrumental in the Rebellion's early successes. Prior to the Battle of Yavin, she served as the Alliance High Command's mobile command base and carried Mon Mothma to several important diplomatic meetings. During these times, the ship was quite frequently under the command of Admiral Ackbar, despite Home One serving as his permanent flagship. Independence also undertook many important military operations during this time as well, stalling and ultimately helping to end Operation Strike Fear, participating in Operation Skyhook, the first Alliance starfighter anti-capital strike against the [[ISD Intrepid|ISD Intrepid]], and the Battle of Kalla VII, transporting the Rebel leaders safely to Yavin IV, and lending its starfighter squadrons to fight the Battle of Yavin. After the Battle of Yavin, the Independence once again served as the Rebel flagship, evacuating the Yavin base and participating in several military operations and strikes Until the Battle of Hoth. Following the withdrawal from Echo Base, the Alliance flag was transferred to Home One, but Independence would continue to serve the Alliance with distinction. She was a vital link in the chain carrying information detailing the construction of the Second Death Star, successfully fending off an attack from the SSD Executor. She was one of three Home One variants present at the Battle of Endor, serving as a communications control ship alongside Home One as flagship, and was a surviving member of that battle. With the destruction of the [[NRSC Liberty|NRSC Liberty]] at Endor, she took on many of that vessel's surviving fighter craft. New Republic The Independence's service under the New Republic began even before that entity took on the name formally. The ship was immediately sent to begin operations against the remaining Imperial forces, and she took part in a number of liberation efforts and general cleanup operations, though soon the focus of her role in the fleet would shift, hearkening back to the early days of her involvement in the Rebellion. Soon the Independence, now officially a part of what the new command structure was calling First Fleet, was chiefly engaged in diplomatic missions, providing a show of force and protection to entice planets into the New Republic's membership. As the 'cleanup' began to drag on into a return to full-blown war with the rise of a new Emperor to power, the Independence was moved back into a full-time combat role. As part of First Fleet, she was primarily utilized for defensive actions and security within the Republic's own borders while the ships of Second Fleet became more and more the frontline combat units. Still, Independence saw its share of action nonetheless, quite frequently being sent on secondary deep strike missions and spending much of what passed for "downtime" patrolling the wild border regions. While many of the most famous engagements of the time period were taken on by the ships of Second Fleet, Independence was called on to assist in the evacuations of Coruscant, the following refugee efforts on her homeworld of Dac, and the relocation to Ord Mantell. Based at the Dacan Shipyards that birthed her with the rest of First Fleet, Independence was a key ship in the conflict that grew out of the Empire's Operation Squid Lake and executed the Republic's withdrawal from that system alongside her sister ships. Facilities/Points of Interest Like all MC80s in Republic service, Independence is organized into four quadrants centered around the four large concourses retained from the vessel's original design. These quadrants are officially termed the Fore, Mid-Fore, Mid-Aft, and Aft Quadrants, but it is common to refer instead to the concourses, which have no official names, but are known colloquially by the crew as the Command, Main, Pilots' and Aft Concourses, respectively. These concourses are the major hub points-- while it is possible to traverse the ship without entering them, the main lift cluster provides fast access between them, and the most important locations in the ship tend to be located in proximity to one of the concourses. Fore Quadrant The Command Concourse provides access to the ship's primary command tower and the bridge, as well as the main briefing rooms for officers. It also contains the War Room, a large briefing and planning facility that features a large holotank capable of detailed display of full-color holo-images. Mid-Fore Quadrant The Main Concourse features access to Medical, Crew Quarters, and general-purpose lecture halls, in addition to a variety of storerooms, the main Ship's Mess, and Environmental Control. It also features many of the ship's diplomatic facilities in addition to the lecture halls, including VIP quarters and a state ballroom for major functions. Mid-Aft Quadrant The Pilots' Concourse, and indeed the entire quadrant, is dominated by the ship's hangar. This concourse gives access to the hangar itself on the port side, as well as all the facilities associated with it. These include the Pilot Quarters and auxiliaries, workshops, storerooms, and the like. Lucky Lower 13 Mid-Aft Quadrant, Lower Section, Bay 13 houses a ballroom from the days before the ship was converted for war. For unknown reasons, Lower 13 was left unconverted, but unlike the ballroom in Mid-Fore Quadrant, Lower 13 was taken over by the pilots and crew early on and used as a sort of social club and crew lounge. It is a strange place to outsiders, the lights dim in deference to the Quarren crewers' visual spectrum, with the furnishings colored a soft, glow-in-the-dark pink. Unlike the main crew lounge, Lower 13 continues to serve alcohol as it had in the Alliance, a discrepancy that is carefully 'overlooked' by all involved(though, the bar droid has a full download of the duty roster and refuses to serve drinks six hours in advance of active duty or during general alerts). Music is common, and can range from one end of the spectrum to the other, depending on who happens to be off-duty at any point in time. Exactly why or when it came to be known as "Lucky" Lower 13 has been lost to the passage of time, but many theories persist, and it is a popular point of discussion among crew in the club. Aft Quadrant The Aft Concourse gives access to much of the ship's infrastructure systems, most notably the engine rooms and power reactors. It also houses the bulk of the Quarren crew quarters, chosen because it provides an environment more comfortable to their natural tendencies, with dimmer lighting, and slight changes to atmosphere mix that would be difficult to contain elsewhere on the ship. It, too, features access to Lower 13, which may be part of the reason the club is such an oddity. Category:NR Warships